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CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS 



OF THE 



NATIONAL SOCIETY 



OF THE 



DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 




Adopted by the Twenty-eighth Continental Congress 

1919 



CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS 



OF THE 



NATIONAL SOCIETY 



OF THE 



DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 



1919 



.5" 
Act of Incorporation 

H. R. 3553 
Fifty-Fourth Congress of the United States of America 

At the First Session begun and held at the City of Washington on the second 
day of December, one thousand, eight hundred and ninety-five. 

[Public No. 19] 

An act to Incorporate the National Society of the Daughters of the 
American Revolution. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled, That Mary Parke Foster (Mrs. 
John W. Foster), of Indiana; Mary Virginia Ellet Cabell (Mrs. William D. 
Cabell), of Virginia; Helen Mason Boynton (Mrs. Henry V. Boynton), of 
Ohio; Henrietta Greely (Mrs. A. W. Greely), of Washington, District of 
Columbia; Lelie Dent Saint Clair (Mrs. F. O. Saint Clair), of Maryland; 
Regina M. Knott (Mrs. A. Leo Knott), of Maryland; Sara Agnes Rice 
Pryor (Mrs. Roger A. Pryor), of New York; Sara Ford Judd Goode (Mrs. 
G. Browne Goode), of Washington, District of Columbia; Mary Desha, of 
Kentucky; Sue Virginia Field (Mrs. Stephen J. Field), of California; Sallie 
Kennedy Alexander (Mrs. Thomas Alexander), of Washington, District of Col- 
umbia; Rosa Wright Smith, of Washington, District of Columbia; Sara C. J. 
Hagan (Mrs. Hugh Hagan), of Georgia; Mary Stiner Putnam (Mrs. John Ris- 
ley Putnam), of New York; Mary Leighton Shields (Mrs. George H. Shields), 
of Missouri; Ellen Hardin Walworth of New York; Mary E. MacDonald (Mrs. 
Marshall MacDonald), of Virginia; Eugenia Washington, of Virginia; Alice M. 
Clarke (Mrs. A. Howard Clarke), of Massachusetts; Clara Barton, of Wash- . 
ington, District of Columbia; Mary S. Lockwood, of Washington, District of 
Columbia; Frances B. Hamlin (Mrs. Teunis S. Hamlin), of Washington, Dis- 
trict of Columbia; Martha C. B. Clarke (Mrs. Arthur E.Clarke), of New Hamp- 
shire; Lucia E. Blount (Mrs. Henry Blount), of Indiana; Jane A. 0. Keim 
(Mrs. deB Randolph Keim), of Connecticut; Louise Ward McAllister, of New 
York; Efne Ream Osborne (Mrs. Frank Stuart Osborne), of Illinois; Maria 
Devereux, of Washington, District of Columbia; Belinda O. Wilbour (Mrs. 
Joshua Wilbour), of Rhode Island; Georgiana E. Shippen(Mrs. W.W. Shippen), 
of New Jersey; Julia K. Hogg (Mrs. N. B. Hogg), of Pennsylvania; Katherine 
C. Breckenridge (Mrs. Clifton R. Breckenridge), of Arkansas; Sara Isabella 
Hubbard (Mrs. Adolphus S. Hubbard), of California; Mary L. D. Putnam 

2 . ,- 



(Mrs. Charles E. Putnam), of Iowa; Delia Clayborne Buckner (Mrs. Simon 
B. Buckner), of Kentucky; Emily Marshall Eliot (Mrs. Samuel Eliot), of 
Massachusetts; Lucy Grey Henry (Mrs. William Wirt Henry), of Virginia; 
Elizabeth Blair Lee, of Maryland; Mrs. Frances P. Burrows (Mrs. Julius C. 
Burrows), Mrs. Mary H. McMillan (Mrs. James McMillan), Mrs. Emma 
Gregory Hull (Mrs. J. A. T. Hull), Mrs. Mary B. K. Washington (Mrs. Joseph 
Washington), and their associates and successors, are hereby created a body 
Corporate and politic, in the District of Columbia, by the name of the National 
Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, for patriotic, 
historical and educational purposes; to perpetuate the memory and spirit 
of the men and women who achieved American Independence; by the acquisi- 
tion and protection of historical spots and the erection of monuments; by the 
encouragement of historical research in relation to the Revolution and the 
publication of its results; by the preservation of documents and relics, and of 
the records t of the individual services of Revolutionary soldiers and patriots, 
and by the promotion of celebrations of all patriotic anniversaries; to carry out 
the injunction of Washington in his farewell address to the American people, 
"to promote, as an object of primary importance, institutions for the general 
diffusion of knowledge," thus developing an enlightened public opinion 
and affording to young and old such advantages as shall develop in them the 
largest capacity for performing the duties of American citizens; to cherish, 
maintain and extend the institutions of American freedom; to foster true 
patriotism and love of country, and to aid in securing for mankind all the 
blessings of liberty. 

Sec. 2. That said Society is authorized to hold real and personal estate in the 
United States, so far only as may be necessary to its lawful ends, to an amount 
not exceeding $500,000, and may adopt a constitution and make by-laws not 
inconsistent with law, and may adopt a seal. 

Said Society shall have its headquarters or principal office at Washington, 
in the District of Columbia. 

Sec. 3. That said Society shall report annually to the Secretary of the 
Smithsonian Institution concerning its proceedings, and said Secretary shall 
communicate to Congress such portions thereof as he may deem of national 
interest and importance. The Regents of the Smithsonian Institution are 
authorized to permit said National Society to deposit its collections, manu- 
scripts, books, pamphlets, and other material for history in the Smithsonian 
Institution or in the. National Museum, at their discretion, upon such con- 
ditions and under such rules as they shall prescribe. 

Approved February 20. 1896. 

Grover Cleveland, 

Thomas B. Reed, 
Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

A. E. Stevenson. 

Vice President of the United States and 
President of the Senate. 



DEPARTMENT OF STATE. 

I certify that the above is a true copy of an Act of Congress, the original 
of which is on file in this Department. 

In testimony whereof, I, Richard Olney, Secretary of State of the United 
States, have hereunto subscribed my name and caused the Se^l of the Depart- 
ment of State to be affixed. 

Done at the city of Washington this 5th of May, A. D. 1896, and of the 
Independence of the United States of America the 120th. 

Richard Olney. 
[seal.] 

[Public — No. 277 — 63d Congress.] 
[h. r. 2504.] 

An Act To amend section two of an Act entitled "An Act to incorporate 
the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution." 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That section two 
of an Act entitled "An Act to incorporate the National Society of 
the Daughters of the American Revolution," approved February- 
twentieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-six, be, and the same is 
hereby, amended so as to read as follows: 

"Sec. 2. That the said society is authorized to hold real and 
personal estate in the United States, so far only as may be neces- 
sary to its lawful ends, to an amount not exceeding $1,000,000, 
and may adopt a constitution and make by-laws not inconsistent 
with law, and may adopt a seal. 

"The said society shall have its headquarters or principal office 
at Washington, in the District of Columbia." 

Approved, March 3, 1915. 



Constitution 

ARTICLE I. 

Name. 

The name of this Society shall be The National Society of 
the Daughters of the American Revolution. 

ARTICLE II. 

Objects of the Society 

The objects of this Society are: 

(1) To perpetuate the memory and spirit of the men and 
women who achieved American Independence, by the acquisition 
and protection of historical spots, and the erection of monuments; 
by the encouragement of historical research in relation to the 
Revolution and the publication of its results; by the preservation 
of documents and relics, and of the records of the individual 
services of Revolutionary soldiers and patriots, and by the pro- 
motion of celebrations of all patriotic anniversaries. 

(2) To carry out the injunction of Washington in his fare- 
well address to the American people, "to promote, as an object 
of primary importance, institutions for the general diffusion of 
knowledge," thus developing an enlightened public opinion, and 
affording to young and old such advantages as shall develop in 
them the largest capacity for performing the duties of American 
citizens. 

(3) To cherish, maintain, and extend the institutions of Ameri- 
can freedom, to foster true patriotism and love of country, and to 
aid in securing for mankind all the blessings of liberty. 

ARTICLE III. 

Eligibility. 

Section 1 . Any woman not less than eighteen years of age, who 
is descended from a man or woman who gave unfailing loyal 
service to the cause of American independence as a recognized 
patriot, soldier, sailor, or civil officer, in one of the several 
Colonies or States, or of the United Colonies or States, is eligible 
to membership in the National Society, Daughters of the Ameri- 
can Revolution ; — provided she is personally acceptable. 

ARTICLE IV. 

Officers. 

Section 1. The officers of this Society shall be a President 
General, twenty-one Vice Presidents General, no two of whom 
shall be from the same state, Or territory, or the District of Col- 
umbia, or the Orient, a Chaplain General, a Recording Secretary 
General, a Corresponding Secretary General, an Organizing 



Secretary General, a Treasurer General, a Registrar General, 
a Historian General,, a Librarian General, a Curator General, 
and a Reporter General to the Smithsonian Institution. 

ARTICLE V. 

Continental Congress. 

This Society shall hold an annual meeting at Washington, 
D. C, during the week in which the 19th of April falls, unless 
otherwise ordered by a vote of two-thirds of the entire National 
Board of Management, which vote may be taken by mail. 
This meeting shall be known as the Continental Congress of the 
National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, 
and shall be for the purpose of receiving reports of officers, of the 
National Board of Management, and of Committees; for the 
election of officers, and for any other business that may arise. 

ARTICLE VI. 

A mendments. 

Section 1. This Constitution may be amended by a two- 
thirds vote at any Continental Congress, except one at which 
the officers other than Vice Presidents General are elected, 
provided that a copy of the proposed amendment has been sent by 
the National Board of Management to all chapters of the National 
Society at least sixty, and not more than ninety, days before the 
Continental Congress; and provided further that the amendment 
has been proposed by the National Board of Management, 
or by a chapter, or by a committee authorized by the Continental 
Congress. In case the amendment is proposed by a chapter, 
it must be endorsed by at least nine other chapters, these ten 
chapters being located in at least five different states. 

Section 2. Amendments to this Constitution shall take 
effect at the close of the Continental Congress at which they are 
adopted. 

By-Laws 

ARTICLE I. 

Qualifications of Members. 

Section 1. An applicant for membership must be endorsed 
by two members in good standing, one of whom at least must 
live in the same town in which the applicant resides, provided 
there is a chapter in that town. If there is no chapter, at least 
one of the endorsers must be a resident in that state. The appli- 
cant shall present her application, thus endorsed and accompanied 
by the required initiation fee and annual dues, to the National 
Society in one of two ways; through a chapter, or as a member 



at large. If the application is made through a chapter it must 
be approved by the chapter or its board of management, as the 
chapter may decide. If it is made as a member at large it must 
be approved by the State Regent of the state in which the 
applicant resides. The application thus approved and accom- 
panied by the initiation fee and annual dues shall be sent by 
the chapter or State Regent, as the case may be, to the Treasurer 
General, who shall transmit the application papers to the Regis- 
trar General. The Registrar General shall report on the eligi- 
bility of the applicant to the National Board of Management 
which shall vote upon the question of admission to membership. 
A majority vote shall elect. In case the applicant is not elected, 
the money paid by the applicant shall be returned. 

Section 2. When an applicant from the Society of the 
Children of the American Revolution presents a card of transfer 
accompanied by application papers of the National Society of the 
Daughters of the American Revolution through a chapter or 
through the State Regent in the state in which the applicant re- 
sides, showing that she was in good standing in the Society of the 
Children of the American Revolution up to the age of eighteen 
years, and the card of transfer was given 'and presented within a 
year thereafter, she shall be admitted to membership by the 
National Board of Management, provided she is acceptable, and 
shall be exempt from the payment of initiation fee to the 
National Society. 

Section 3. All persons whose applications were approved 
on or before October 11, 1891, are charter members of the 
National Society. 

Section 4. The daughters of the men who fought in the 
War of the American Revolution for the freedom of this country 
shall be honorary members of the National Society and shall be 
known as Real Daughters. 

Section 5. Each member of the National Society shall be 
entitled to a certificate of membership, duly attested by the Pres- 
ident General, the Recording Secretary General, and the Registrar 
General, to which is affixed the seal of the National Society. 

Section 6. A member at large shall not be eligible to be a 
delegate or an alternate to the meetings of the National Society 
or a State Conference, or to hold a National or State office, or to 
serve on a National or State committee. 

ARTICLE II. 

Election of Officers. 

Section 1. The officers of the National Society, with the ex- 
ception of the Vice Presidents General, shall be elected by ballot 
at the regular meeting of the Continental Congress every third 
year. Seven Vice Presidents General shall be elected by ballot 



each year, for a term of three years, at the regular meeting of the 
Continental Congress. If more than seven candidates for Vice 
President General receive a majority vote, the seven receiving 
the highest number of votes shall be declared elected; and in 
case the seven highest cannot be determined on account of a 
tie, lots shall be cast under the direction of the tellers. 

Section 2. The officers of this Society shall hold office for 
three years or until their successors are elected, and, with the 
exception of the Treasurer General, their term of office shall 
begin at the close of the session at which they are elected. The 
term of office of the Treasurer General shall begin when she has 
secured a bond acceptable to the National Board of Management. 

Section 3. No member shall be eligible to a National office 
until she has been a member of the National Society for at least 
two years. No member shall be eligible to the same National 
office for two successive terms, and no member who has served 
one term in any National office, except that of Vice President 
General, shall be eligible to any National office, except that of 
President General, until the expiration of at least one year. A 
member having served more than one-half of a term in a Na- 
tional office shall be deemed to have served a term. 

Section 4. Nominations of candidates for office shall be 
from the floor. A candidate for the office of Vice President 
General must have been endorsed by a majority of the delegates 
at the state conference of the State in which she resides. A 
majority of the votes cast by ballot by members of the Continen- 
tal Congress shall elect. 

Section 5. No member shall hold more than one National 
office at the same time. 

Section 6. In recognition of valuable service to the organi- 
zation, Honorary Presidents General and Honorary Vice Presi- 
dents General may be elected for life at any Continental Congress 
by a two-thirds vote, provided the number of Honorary Vice 
Presidents General shall at no time exceed thirteen. In case 
there are more nominees for Honorary Vice Presidents General 
than there are places to be filled, the election shall be by ballot. 
No member shall be eligible to an honorary office who has not 
filled the National office with the corresponding name. An 
honorary office shall carry with it no privilege excepting the right 
to attend sessions of the Continental Congress. 

Section 7. Should the office of President General become 
vacant, the Recording Secretary General shall call a special 
meeting of the National Board of Management, giving at least 
two weeks notice, stating time, place, and purpose of the call, 
and the National Board of Management shall by ballot elect a 
Vice President General to be called Acting President General, 

8 



to perform the duties of the office of President General until the 
next meeting of the Continental Congress, when a President 
General shall be elected to fill the unexpired term. The Record- 
ing Secretary General shall open the meeting and preside until 
the election is completed. 

Section 8. Vacancies in other National offices except those 
of Vice Presidents General shall be filled by the National Board 
of Management until the next meeting of the Continental Con- 
gress, at least ten days* notice of the vacancy having been given 
in the call for the meeting of the National Board of Management. 
The election shall be by ballot. 

ARTICLE III. 

Duties of Officers. 

Section 1. President General. The President General shall 
preside at all meetings of the National Society, of the National 
Board of Management, and of the Executive Committee, and 
perform such other duties as are specified in the parliamentary 
authority adopted by the National Society and as are provided 
for in the rules of the National Society. She shall be ex officio a 
member of all committees. 

Section 2. Vice Presidents General. In the absence of the 
President General from any meeting of the National Society or 
of the National Board of Management, except that at which a 
vacancy in the office of President General is to be filled, one 
of the Vice Presidents General shall be elected to perform the 
duties of the President General. 

Section 3. Chaplain General. The Chaplain General shall 
open all meetings of the Society with the reading of Scripture and 
prayer, and shall conduct such religious services as occasion may 
require. She shall have direction of the publication of the 
Remembrance Book. 

Section 4. Recording Secretary General. The Recording 
Secretary General shall keep a record of all the meetings of the 
National Society, the National Board of Management, and the 
Executive Committee; have charge of the seal; give due notice 
of all meetings of the National Society or National Board of 
Management or Executive Committee; give due notice to all 
General Officers and Chapters of all votes, orders and proceed- 
ings affecting or appertaining to their duties, and generally per- 
form such acts as pertain to her office. 

Section 5. Corresponding Secretary General. The Corre- 
sponding Secretary General shall attend to the correspondence 
of her office and to such other correspondence as the National 
Society, the National Board of Management, or the Executive 
Committee may direct; open and distribute to the proper offices 
all mail directed to the National Society of the Daughters of the 



American Revolution ; and distribute all pamphlets, circulars and 
supplies gratuitously issued, as directed by the National Board of 
Management or Executive Committee. 

Section 6. Organizing Secretary General. The Organizing 
Secretary General shall receive through the State Regents all 
applications for authority to organize chapters and appoint Or- 
ganizing Regents, and shall present the same to the National 
Board of Management for its action, and shall notify the Organiz- 
ing Regent of her appointment, and send .instructions. She shall, 
1 connection with the respective State Regents, have supervision 
jf the organization of chapters. She shall issue charters, when 
duly executed by the proper officers of the National Society and 
signed by the State Regent, to the chapters entitled to the 
same. * She shall keep a record of the following facts regarding 
each chapter of the National Society; name and date of organi- 
zation of the chapter; names of organizing members and officers ; 
date of issuance of charters; also complete record of all officers of 
chapters. She shall keep a complete catalogue of the membership 
of the National Society. She shall keep a list of all State Regents 
and State Vice Regents and present the names of the State Re- 
gents and State Vice Regents elect to the Continental Congress for 
confirmation. She shall issue all commissions to National Offi- 
cers, State Regents, State Vice Regents, and Organizing Regents. 

Section 7. Treasurer General. The Treasurer General shall 
have charge of the funds, and securities of the National Society. 
She shall deposit the same in such banking institutions, in the 
City of Washington, as the National Board of Management shall 
select, to the credit of the National Society of the Daughters of 
the American Revolution, and draw thereon by check, for pay- 
ment of bills duly authorized. 

All bills, except such as the National Board of Management 
shall specifically exempt, shall be countersigned by the Chair- 
man or Acting Chairman of the Finance Committee. The Treas- 
urer General shall make an annual report to the Continental 
Congress. Her account shall be audited monthly by an expert 
accountant, chosen by the Auditing Committee and approved by 
the National Board of Management. Her report and account 
shall be submitted to the Auditing Committee. She shall give 
bond for the faithful discharge of the duties above defined. 

Section 8. Registrar General. The Registrar General shall 
keep a register of the names and dates of the election of all mem- 
bers of the several chapters and of the National Society at large, 
and shall have the care and custody of all applications for mem- 
bership, duplicates of which, properly approved by the National 
Officers, shall be retained by the registrars of the chapters. The 
Registrar General shall examine all applications for membership, 
and approve the same if the applicant is found eligible; if not, 

10 



she shall return such papers for correction, pointing out defects. 
She shall make all corrections to ancestors' records and carry 
on all correspondence connected with them, as well as with all 
other genealogical matters pertaining to the duties of the Regis- 
trar General's office. She shall report all applications to the 
National Board of Management for final action. 

Section 9. Historian General. The Historian General shall 
take charge of all the historical and biographical manuscripts or 
collections of which the National Society may become possessed 
and shall catalogue and arrange the same. She shall place in the 
library all of these documents suitable for such placing, place 
in the Museum any such documents that deserve a place under 
glass, and place those needing protection in a fireproof repository. 
She shall prepare, for official publication by the National Society, 
historical and biographical sketches of the Revolutionary ances- 
try of members and of distinguished women of the Revolution. 

Section 10. Librarian General. The Librarian General shall 
have the care and custody of all books, magazines, and pamphlets, 
of which the National Society may become possessed, and shall 
catalogue and arrange the same, with the exception of those pro- 
vided for elsewhere. She shall have charge of soliciting gifts, 
negotiating exchanges and purchasing new volumes for the library. 
She shall have the power, subject to the approval of the National 
Board of Management, of rejecting any volumes offered to the 
library which she deems unsuited to the character of the collec- 
tion. She shall carry on the correspondence of the library and 
shall have complete supervision of its administration. 

Section 11. Curator General. The Curator General shall 
have charge of the museum and custody of all articles of the 
Revolutionary Period, including textiles, glass, china, metals, and 
such manuscripts, newspapers and books as need to be preserved 
under glass and such text books as may assist her in the pursuance 
of her work, and shall catalogue and arrange the same. She shall 
have the privilege of soliciting gifts, and, subject to the approval 
of the National Board of Management, she may purchase articles 
for the museum, and reject any gifts offered to the museum, which 
she deems unsuited to the character of the collection. She shall 
carry on the correspondence of the museum and shall have com- 
plete supervision of its administration. 

Section 12. Reporter General to the Smithsonian Institution. 
The Reporter General to the Smithsonian Institution shall report 
annually to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution concern- 
ing the proceedings of the National Society, Daughters of the 
American Revolution, as provided for in the act of incorporation. 

11 



ARTICLE IV. 

Meetings of the National Society. 

Section 1. Special meetings of the National Society shall be 
called by the President General when directed to do so by a major- 
ity vote of the National Board of Management, there being at 
least twenty-five members of the National Board of Management 
voting therefor, or when requested in writing to do so by twenty- 
five or more chapters representing at least ten states. Thirty 
days notice shall be given of such called meeting, specifying the 
time, place of meeting, and the special business to be transacted. 

Section 2. The voting members at the Continental Congress 
or at any other meeting of the National Society shall be the 
officers of the National Society; the State Regent, or, in her 
absence, the State Vice Regent, of each state and territory, the 
District of Columbia, and the Orient; and the regent, or in her 
absence, the vice regent, and delegates, or their alternates, ot 
each chapter, in the United States and foreign countries. 

Section 3. One hundred voting members shall constitute a 
quorum at any meeting of the National Society. 

ARTICLE V. 
Dues. 

Section 1. The initiation fee shall be one dollar. 

Section 2. The annual dues shall be two dollars, payable in 
advance, on or before January 1st. 

Section 3. One dollar of the dues collected from each mem- 
ber of a chapter shall be sent by the chapter treasurer to the 
Treasurer General on or before January 5th of each year. 

Section 4. The whole amount of annual dues of a member 
at large shall be sent by her to the Treasurer General on or be- 
fore January 1st of each year. 

Section 5. One hundred dollars paid at one time as dues by 
a member shall make her a life member and shall exempt her from 
further dues, except such as may be levied by the chapter of 
which she is a member. One-half of this amount shall be sent 
to the Treasurer General, and one-half retained by the chapter 
to which the member belongs. 

Section 6. The whole amount of the life membership fee of 
a member at large shall be sent by her to the Treasurer General. 

Section 7. A member who has not paid her dues according 
to the requirements of the Constitution shall not be entitled to 
representation at the Continental Congress, nor shall she be 
entitled to vote for delegates or alternates, or to resign from 
membership. If such delinquent, after three notices from the 
Treasurer General (at least a month apart), have been sent her 
of unpaid dues, does not pay her indebtedness within six months 

12 



after the amount is due, she shall automatically be dropped from 
the roll of members. Notice of such action shall be sent within 
ten days to the member at large or to the regent of the chapter 
to which the member belonged, and reported at the next meet- 
ing of the National Board of Management. 

Section 8. A member dropped for non-payment of dues 
may be reinstated by the National Board of Management only 
upon the payment of her indebtedness to the Chapter and through 
the chapter to the National Society, or if a member at large, to- 
the National Society. 

Section 9. A member who has been admitted by the National 
Society on or after July 1st in any year shall not be required to 
pay dues again until January 1st of the second year thereafter. 

Section 10. Real Daughters shall- be exempt from the pay- 
ment of initiation fees and dues. 

Section 11. A member at large, in good standing, desiring 
to become a member of a chapter, if approved by the chapter 
or its board of management, as the chapter may decide, shall be 
entitled to a transfer card from the National Society, and if 
such chapter be a new chapter, half of her annual dues for the cur- 
rent year shall be paid to said chapter on demand of the chapter 
treasurer upon the Treasurer General, provided she enters the 
chapter within six months after said dues became payable^to 
the National Society. 

ARTICLE VI. 

National Board of Management. 

Section 1. The officers of the National Society, the State 
Regent, or, in her absence, the State Vice Regent of each State 
and territory, the District of Columbia, and the Orient, shall con- 
stitute the National Board of Management. 

Section 2. The officers of the National Society shall ex 
officio be officers of the National Board of Management. 

Section 3. The National Board of Management shall be 
the trustee of Memorial Continental Hall, and all other property, 
real and personal, of the National Society. 

Section 4. The National Board of Management shall meet 
on the call of the President General at least four times during 
the year, ten or more days notice of time and place of meeting 
having been given. Special meetings may be called by the 
President General, and shall be called upon the written request 
of ten members of the Board. At least ten days notice of time 
and place of such meetings shall be given. 

Section 5. Seven members shall constitute a quorum at any 
meeting of the National Board of Management. 

Section 6. The National Board of Management shall have 
all power and authority over the affairs of the National Society 

13 



during the interim between the meetings of the National So- 
ciety, excepting that of modifying any action taken by the Con- 
tinental Congress or other meeting of the National Society, 
provided that no debt or liability except for ordinary current ex- 
penses shall be incurred by the National Board of Management, 
and that no project or plan requiring the expenditure of money 
shall be entered into for which the National Society shall be held 
responsible except by an affirmative vote of at least twenty-five 
members of the National Board of Management. 

Section 7. The National Board of Management shall make 
an annual report to the Continental Congress. 

Section 8. The National Board of Management is authorized 
to adopt rules for the transaction of its business, provided they 
do not conflict with the rules of the National Society. 

ARTICLE VII. 

Executive Committee. 

At the first meeting of the National Board of Management 
following the Continental Congress each year, the President 
General is authorized to appoint from that body seven members, 
subject to the approval of the National Board of Management, 
who, together with the President General and the Recording 
Secretary General, shall constitute an Executive Committee. 
The National Board of Management may authorize this Com- 
mittee to perform such duties of the Board between its meetings 
as it may from time to time deem expedient. The Executive 
Committee shall meet at the call of the President General, or 
upon the written request of five members of the Committee. It 
shall make a complete report at each meeting of the National 
Board of Management. 

ARTICLE VIII. 

Committees. 

After the close of each Continental Congress the President 
General shall appoint the following Standing Committees: 

Finance Committee 

Auditing Committee 

Printing Committee 
The duties of the above committees shall be such as usually per- 
tain to committees of like character, and such as may be defined 
by the National Board of Management. 

The President General shall appoint such other committees 
as are authorized by the Continental Congress or the National 
Board of Management. 

14 



ARTICLE IX. 

Chapters. 

Section 1. All persons duly qualified, who have been reg- 
ularly admitted by the National Board of Management, shall 
be members of the National Society, but for purposes of con- 
venience they may be organized into local chapters. 

Section 2. Chapters may be organized in one of the follow- 
ing three ways: 

(a) The State Regent is authorized to appoint in a locality 
where no chapter exists, an Organizing Regent who must be a 
member at large in good standing. This appointment shall be 
sent to the Organizing Secretary General who shall present it to 
the National Board of Management for approval or rejection. 
It shall be the duty of the Organizing Regent to endeavor to secure 
at least twelve members at large who are desirous of forming a 
chapter. After at least twelve members have been secured, the 
Organizing Regent shall call a meeting and organize the chapter. 
She shall ex officio be the regent of the chapter to serve until the 
first annual meeting and shall appoint the other necessary officers 
to serve until the first annual meeting. The office of Organizing 
Regent expires by limitation if no chapter is formed within two 
years. 

(b) With the approval of the State Regent and of the National 
Board of Management, twelve members at large of the National 
Society may form a chapter in a city, town, or village, where no 
chapter exists. They are empowered to elect their own officers. 

(c) In a locality where there is already a chapter an additional 
chapter may be organized, provided the existing chapter or chap- 
ters has reached a membership of at least fifty and, provided the 
organization of the chapter is approved by the State Regent and 
the National Board of Management, and provided such additional 
chapter shall contain at least twenty-five members who have 
joined the National Society not more than six months previous 
to the date at which they organize. 

Section 3. Members who unite to organize a chapter, if 
members of other chapters, must be transferred to membership- 
at-large prior to organization of the new chapter. 

Section 4. The officers of a chapter shall be a regent, a vice 
regent, a secretary, a treasurer, a registrar, and such other officers 
as the chapter may desire. Each chapter shall have the power 
to conduct its local affairs and is authorized to adopt rules for the 
transaction of its business, provided they do not conflict with the 
Constitution and by-laws of the National Society. 

Section 5. When an applicant for membership is approved 
by a chapter or its board of management, her application shall 
be signed by the chapter regent, secretary, and registrar, before 

15 



being forwarded for final action by the National Board of Man- 
agement. 

Section 6. Delegates and alternates to any meeting of the 
National Society must be elected on or before March 1st of each 
year, and a typewritten list of these delegates and alternates 
must be sent at. once to the chairman of the credential committee 
and the State Regent. 

Section 7. A member must have belonged to a chapter at 
least one year before she is eligible to serve as a delegate from 
that chapter to the Continental Congress. 

Section 8. Each chapter, excepting those that have been 
organized in a locality where there was already a chapter, shall be 
entitled to be represented at the Continental Congress or special 
meeting of the National Society by its regent, or in her absence, 
by its vice regent. A chapter that has been organized in a locality 
where there was already a chapter shall be entitled to be repre- 
sented at the Continental Congress or special meeting of the 
National Society by its regent, or in her absence, by its vice 
regent, when it has attained a membership of at least twenty-five. 
Chapters having fifty members and not exceeding one hundred 
members shall be entitled to be represented by one delegate, in 
addition to its regent. Chapters having more than one hundred 
members shall be entitled to one delegate for each additional one 
hundred members. Regents and delegates shall be entitled to 
alternates, but no more than ten alternates shall be elected from 
any chapter. A chapter regent is authorized to fill vacancies in 
its delegation to the Continental Congress from duly elected 
alternates. 

Section 9. A member in good and regular standing desiring . 
to be transferred from one chapter to another, or to membership 
at large, shall be entitled to a transfer card signed by the regent, 
treasurer, and registrar of her chapter. ' A member at large in 
good and regular standing desiring to be transferred to a chapter 
shall be entitled to a transfer card signed by the Treasurer Gen- 
eral and the Registrar General. Transfer cards must be accom- 
panied by duplicate application papers for which the member 
transferred shall pay a fee of twenty-five cents for each Revolu- 
tionary ancestor. Such transfer must be at once reported by 
the chapter to the Treasurer General. 

' No chapter may issue a transfer card to another chapter unless 
the member desiring to be transferred has met all requirements for , 
admission to the chapter to which such card of transfer is issued./ 

Section 10. A member in good and regular standing may 
resign from membership in the National Society to date from the 
time the resignation is received in the office of the Treasurer 
General, said resignation to be reported by the Treasurer General 
at the next regular meeting of the National Board of Management. 

16 



Section 11. Chapter treasurers shall report to the Treasurer 
General on the first of January, June and November all changes 
in membership between the dates of reports, members in arrears, 
marriages, and deaths of members. The fees and dues sent to 
the Treasurer General by the chapter treasurer must be accom- 
panied by an alphabetical list of the members to whom the dues 
shall be accredited. 

Section 12. Chapters shall report to the Organizing Secre- 
tary General the election of officers and date of election. 

Section 13. Chapters may elect associate members, but per- 
sons so elected must be members in good standing in the National 
Society, Daughters of the American Revolution, and such asso- 
ciate members shall not be counted in the membership of the 
chapter for representation at the Continental Congress or State 
Conference, and they shall have no right to vote or hold office 
in the chapter. 

Section 14. Chapters must not be named for living persons. 
No chapter can take for its use the name of historic property 
owned by the Daughters of the American Revolution of a State, 
or by another chapter of the National Society of the Daughters 
of the American Revolution, or the name of a chapter already 
organized. 

Section 15. A chapter may by its own by-laws provide for 
additional dues for its own use. 

Section 16. Chapters shall send annually to the Reporter 
General to the Smithsonian Institution such report as she may 
request, this being obligatory under the Charter of the National 
Society, Daughters of the American Revolution. 

ARTICLE X. 

State Conferences. 

Section 1. The chapters of each state and territory, the 
District of Columbia, and the Orient shall organize a State Con- 
ference which shall meet annually. These conferences shall 
elect a State Regent, a State Vice Regent, and such other State 
officers as they may deem necessary, and shall make their own laws 
and regulations, which shall not conflict with the Constitution 
and By-laws of the National Society. The election of State 
Regents and State Vice-Regents must be confirmed by the Con- 
tinental Congress, and their term of office shall begin at the close 
of the Congress at which they were confirmed. 

Section 2. The voting members of the State Conference of 
any state shall be its officers, the officers of the National Society 
whose residence is within that state, chapter regents, or in their 
absence, the vice regents, and the delegates or their alternates 
from the chapters of the state. The number of delegates from 
each chapter shall be determined by the rules for representation 

17 



of chapters in the Continental Congress, except that the State 
Conference may increase this representation in a uniform ratio. 

Each State Conference is authorized to fix a time previous to 
its annual meeting when the number of delegates to which a 
chapter is entitled shall be determined. 

Section 3. In a state or territory where no State Conference 
is held the state officers shall be elected at the Continental Con- 
gress by the delegates to that body from the respective states or 
territories. 

Section 4. No State Regent or State Vice Regent shall be 
elected who is not an actual resident of the state she represents. 
The right to elect an Honorary State Regent shall belong to the 
voting members of the State Conference. No one may be elected 
Honorary State Regent unless she has held the office of State 
Regent. 

Section 5. A State Conference may by its own by-laws pro- 
vide for dues for its own use, and chapters failing to pay such 
dues shall not be entitled to representation at the meetings of 
the State Conference. 

ARTICLE XI. 

Discipline. 

Section 1. Any member conducting herself, either at the 
chapter meetings or elsewhere, in a way calculated to disturb 
the harmony of the National Society or to impair its good name or 
prosperity, or to injure the reputation of any member thereof, may 
after thorough investigation be reprimanded, suspended, or 
expelled, by the National Board of Management. 

Section 2. No complaint or charge against any member shall 
be considered by the National Board of Management until 
such complaint or charge has been made in writing, signed by 
at least five members of the National Society, and until the per- 
son complained against shall have been furnished a copy of such 
complaint or charge, and given at least three weeks in which to 
answer and defend, which answer and defense shall be made by the 
person complained of, or by her representative. Any member 
presenting complaint to the National Board shall appear in per- 
son or by her representative. 

Section 3. Any person against whom sentence of reprimand, 
suspension, or expulsion has been pronounced by the National 
Board of Management, may apply to such National- Board of 
Management for a rehearing upon the ground of newly discovered 
evidence, or upon the ground of fraud in the procurement of such 
sentence, and a refusal of such rehearing may be appealed within 
two months to the Continental Congress, provided notice of such 
appeal is given at least two weeks before the meeting of the Con- 
tinental Congress. 

18 



ARTICLE XII. 

Seal 
The seal of the National Society shall be one and seven-eighths of 




an inch in diameter, charged with the figure of a dame of the Revo- 
lutionary time sitting at her spinning wheel, with thirteen stars 
above her, the whole surrounded by a rim containing the legend, 
"The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolu- 
tion, 1776-1890," and the motto, "Home and Country". 

ARTICLE XIII. 

Insignia 
The insignia of the National Society shall consist of a badge in 




the form of a spinning wheel and distaff. IT SHALL BE CAR- 
RIED ONLY ON THE LEFT BREAST. The wheel is seven- 
eighths of an inch in diameter and of gold, with thirteen spokes, 
and a field of dark-blue enamel upon its tire bearing the name 
of the National Society in letters of gold. Upon its outer 
rim, opposite the ends of the spokes, are thirteen small stars, 
which may be set with precious stones at the discretion of the 
owner. Underneath the wheel is a golden distaff, one and one- 
half inches long, filled with platinum flax. Upon the back of 

19 



the wheel the registration number of the owner shall be engraved, 
and her name may be added. The ribbon to be worn with the 
wheel is dark blue with a white edge, ribbed and watered, follow- 
ing the colors of Washington's staff. The badge for informal wear 
shall be the insignia of the National Society, engraved or otherwise 
impressed upon a material enclosed in a gold or other rim. A 
rosette of the prescribed ribbon, attached to a stick-pin, may be 
worn as an informal badge upon ordinary occasions. Distinctive 
ancestral bars shall be patented by the National Society of the 
Daughters of the American Revolution. The Insignia, Recognition 
Pin, and Ancestral Bars shall be issued only by permit from the 
Registrar-General. 

ARTICLE XIV. 

Parliamentary Authority. 

Section 1. The rules contained in Robert's Rules of Order Re- 
vised shall govern this Society in all cases to which they are appli- 
cable and in which they are not inconsistent with the Constitution 
and by-laws of the National Society. 

Section 2. Each Continental Congress may, by a two-thirds 
vote, or by a majority vote of all its members, adopt such addi- 
tional rules of order as it may deem advisable for the government 
of that session, provided they are not in conflict with the rules 
of this Society. 

ARTICLE XV. 

Amendments. 

Section 1. These By-laws may be amended by a two-thirds 
vote at any Continental Congress, provided that a copy of the- 
proposed amendment has been sent by the National Board of 
Management to all chapters of the National Society at least sixty, 
and not more than ninety days, before the Continental Congress; 
and provided further that the amendment has been proposed^ by 
the National Board of Management, or by a chapter, or by a com- 
mittee authorized by the Continental Congress. In case the 
amendment is proposed by a chapter, it must be endorsed by at 
least nine other chapters, these ten chapters being located in at 
least five different states. 

Section 2. Amendments to these By-laws shall take effect 
at the close of the Continental Congress at which they are 
adopted. 



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